Hello Splinterlands players!
Splinterlands is not only the best play2earn game on the Hive blockchain, but it is also undoubtedly one of the best games out there in the entire web3 realm. Launched in 2018, the game saw many ups and downs but survived and only came back stronger each time. In my previous splinterlands post, I talked about the recent change in the rental market where the minimum listed price for a card increased from 0.1 DEC to 1 DEC after passing the DAO Proposal with flying colors. However, there is another important ongoing proposal that could entirely change how card rentals work in splinterlands, as a new SPS Governance Proposal is currently live and asking the community whether all card rentals in this game should become seasonal rather than daily. If you are a player or investor in this game and hold staked SPS tokens, now is your chance to vote on this proposal, but you have to act fast because there are only three days left for this proposal to end. In this post, I am going to talk about this ongoing proposal and also my thoughts. So if you are interested, let’s jump right in without any further ado.
Idea behind the Proposal
The idea of changing card rentals to seasonal only came after thorough discussions within the Splinterlands team and among active users in their official Discord and also through community poll and various blog posts. The biggest concern behind this change was the lack of efficiency in the current rental system like - short-term rental cycling, high infrastructure costs and a complex experience for new players. Even Matt, one of the founders of Splinterlands has seen expressing his support for this change.
Another major reason for this change is that both Land and the upcoming Survival Mode will operate exclusively with season-based rentals. So, it would be an effective move to align all rental systems that could simplify things, especially for new players and ensure consistency across different game modes.
The Proposal
If this proposal gets approved, Splinterlands will adjust its rental system in the following ways
Daily rentals will be removed - Players will no longer be able to rent cards for just a two-day period.
Only seasonal rentals will be available - This means players will have to rent cards for the entire season rather than a few days according to their needs.
Pros & Cons of Seasonal Rentals
This particular proposal is getting a lot of attention lately and though many are supporting this change with open arms, not everyone agrees on whether this change is good for the game, as I found out after reading multiple blog posts, comments and chats. So, here is a breakdown of the pros and cons that come with this proposal.
Pros
- One of the main reasons behind this proposal is to prevent rental exploits, such as renting cards only for the last few days of a ranked season or during specific tournaments or brawls.
- If this proposal passes, it will ensure that rented cards are not used for significantly more energy than owned cards, redefining the value of ownership in a better way.
- This change hopefully will make the rental market more stable, as more cards will be available in the market for longer rental periods (14 days).
- A known issue of card owners canceling rents before time just to set them for higher prices during season end or other such occasions will be eliminated.
Another great thing about this proposal is that if it passes, it will reduce the overall transaction volume and server load, which will cost less money, making it cost-effective to run the game smoothly in the long run.
It will also mitigate issues with minimum rental prices and hopefully eliminate the confusion between daily and seasonal rentals in Survival Mode, especially for new players.
Cons
- However, with the seasonal renting model, the main negative effect that I see is that it will require a higher upfront cost, making it harder for some players to afford rentals.
- It will also reduce flexibility for players who only want to rent cards for a few days ( for example - during tournaments, brawls, before the season end time or for those who want to play only on weekends).
- It will also Increase costs for players who own many cards and only need some exclusive cards (for example - Eternal Tofu or Byzantine Kitty, etc) for brawls and tournaments. However, it does ensure that your highly important rented cards will not be canceled before those super important matches.
Suggested Adjustments
At this point, it seems that we are most probably migrating toward season-based rentals because the proposal has already been heavily supported with a huge amount of staked SPS overall and only a miracle can alter the result. Anyway, I have also voted to support the proposal and think it has potential benefits, but it is important to consider how this upcoming change could be made smoother.
- Set a 14-day rental period instead of matching the ranked season’s exact time. This would prevent rental prices from spiking super high at the start of a season and then sharply dropping down later on.
- While the theory behind seasonal rentals sounds solid to me, real-world results might be different, and changes may need to be reversed if they hurt the overall player experience. In that case, we should be open to readjusting systems and should not ignore or forget about low-league or new players, if they leave the game, then the game will be doomed.
Concerns
Some players are worrying about the affordability of renting cards and playing the game, especially after the recent change that increased the minimum rental price from 0.1 DEC to 1 DEC. This change has already made it more expensive for low-level players who rent basic cards to compete in Bronze to Gold leagues. Not all of these players are bots, many are real users who might struggle with higher rental costs.
For example, let’s say a player currently spending 100 DEC per day on rentals would need to pay 1,500 DEC upfront for a 15-day rental. If they can not afford that lump sum amount of money at once, they might be unable to play at their usual level.
Additionally, I think rental prices might increase in the future with this update because, with longer rental periods, players won’t need to adjust prices daily to stay competitive. Right now, if someone sees a competitor lowering their rental price, they often reduce their card’s listed rent prices too, making rentals more affordable. With season-based rentals, this dynamic could change, potentially making card rentals more expensive in the long run.
Last but not least, Splinterlands is one of the best play-to-earn games out there, but if this change directs the gameplay too much towards a pay-to-play model, it may risk losing players. As a player myself, I also used to rent high-value cards only for short periods and believe it is crucial for many players like me, especially during tournaments, brawls or season-end. If a player only needs a card for a two-day tournament, brawl or season-end and is used to the existing system, forcing them all to rent it for 15 days could be frustrating. I admit reducing infrastructure costs is very important for a game to become cost-effective and it really helps in the long run, but keeping the game’s player base engaged and encouraging new players should also be a top priority. I love Splinterlands and want to see this game go boom in the future, but major changes like this should be approached carefully to avoid unintended negative consequences.
Anyway, the decision is ultimately up to you guys. So, if you have staked SPS tokens, make sure to vote and have your say before the time runs out!
I hope you liked reading my thoughts about the ongoing proposal for seasonal rental. Let me know your thoughts about this proposal in the comment section below and I will be seeing you all in my next post.
Thanks for visiting my post, hope we meet again!
Stay well and keep playing Splinterlands!
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